The Element of Surprise

Penelope - Part 3

The bullpen resembles a beehive upon our return. Hotch and Rossi head off towards their offices while JJ goes to hers. I keep my eye on the senior agent - the moment he's in his office, I see my chance and march after him.

Rossi is seated behind his desk when I storm into the room like a hurricane on crack. Before he could even fully process what's happening, I yank his chair back so it's facing me and lean over him, placing my hands on the armrests to cage him in. Our faces are less than five inches apart when I start speaking low and dangerously even, "Don't you ever, ever interrupt me when I'm questioning a person again. Whether it's someone we know or not, when I'm talking, you stay quiet. If this ever happens again, David, I will break you down mentally a brain tumor will seem like a birthday present."

Despite his passive expression, his eyes betray what's running through his head - he's shocked, surprised even that I posses the balls to corner someone like this when rubbed the wrong way. I hold his gaze unblinking, asserting dominance and showing him that I'm serious. If there's anything I'm always serious about, it's a person's mental well-being. Penelope's fragile at the moment, one wrong move and she snaps and we'll lose our Tech Analyst and I'll quit my job to become her personal, full-time, live-in therapist.

But then I realize I'm still caging him in his chair, our faces inches apart, and the atmosphere gradually becoming tense and... anticipating.

Reminding myself that I'm pissed at him, I push off the chair and march out of the office, not once looking back.

'Well, that's one way of getting over him.'

Shut up.

With my blood boiling, I'm in desperate need to unload and head for the only place where I can do just that. But in that short minute, it completely slipped my mind that Penelope is at her apartment, considering that I walked in on a stout, dark-haired man occupying her chair. One look and I know he's the male version of Penny, and by the looks of it, he's battling Garcia in a full-out hacking war. My mood is slightly lifted when I hear him mutter how skilled and brilliant she is. Deciding to leave them to hack in peace - if that's what you can call it - I close the door and wander off to the ladies room to clear my thoughts.

Locking the door behind me, I half-lean over one of the sinks, taking slow and timed breaths. The audacity of that man. At first arrival, he runs off on his own, keep his notes and information to himself, and making calls without consulting with any of us. Then, not once but twice he interrupted my questionings. The first time I allowed it to slide with Mrs Goehring, considering it was a time-sensitive case and a woman's life was on the line. It doesn't mean it annoyed me any less. But when he approached Penny so aggressively, just about yelling at her - that pissed me off. It was uncalled for and plainly rude and insensitive.

"Calm down, Stella," I mutter to myself and inhale slowly, letting that breath go even slower.

But once the blood in my veins stopped raging, it dawns on me what I've done.

I berated my boss and openly threatened him.

Shit.

Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit...............

That could get me fired. I'm so getting fired - but not before receiving a disciplinary lecture from both Hotch and, even worse, Strauss. She's going to break me down slowly, mentally, and emotionally, I'll need at least a year to recover. And not the mention what the team will think.

For a change, my subconscious is quiet and unhelpful. Not that it's ever helpful, but some dry humor could've made me feel slightly better. How I wish Penelope was here right now. She'd know how to make the best of this.